Houston Rockets vs. Denver Nuggets: 3 Best Bets for Third Matchup
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For the first time this season, the Houston Rockets travel to the Mile High City to take on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. In the previous two matchups, the Rockets won both. But Houston had homecourt advantage. The Rockets are yet to win on the road, and a matchup with the reigning champions does not bode well.
On top of that, the Rockets played against the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night, so there is travel and fatigue to consider. Plus, after losing to Houston on Friday, Denver is riding a two-game win streak, convincingly beating the Spurs and Clippers.
The Rockets continue to be without Victor Oladipo and Amen Thompson, with Tari Eason listed as probable. Denver won’t play Vladko Cancar, but Jamal Murray will be a game-time decision after missing 11 games with a hamstring injury.
In perhaps the toughest matchup Houston has faced all year, we made our picks, courtesy of SI Sportsbook.
Rockets forward Jeff Green defends against a shot by Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon during the game at Toyota Center
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Lines
Point spread: Nuggets -7.5 (-110)/Rockeys +7.5 (-118)
Moneyline: Nuggets (-333)/Rockets (+235)
Over/under: 215.5
Our Picks
Safe pick: Alperen Şengün OVER 20.5 points (-125)
Last night, Alperen Şengün scored 31 points in the loss to Dallas. After getting off to a fairly slow start to the season, Şengün has been averaging 23.3 points over the last eight games. His shooting from deep still needs some work, but Denver is not an elite defensive team, so despite the lack of rest, Şengün should have a solid night.
Opponent pick: Nikola Jokic OVER 27.5 points (-118)
For Jokic, this line is insanely low. He has only finished under this line only six times this season, and one of those was due to an early ejection. He is averaging 35.7 points over the last three games, and with an off day yesterday, Houston’s defense won’t have an answer for the best offensive player in the league.
Team pick: Rockets +7.5 (-118)
Only two of Houston’s seven losses have been settled by eight or more points, and both of those occurred back in October. Houston is exceeding expectations, and will probably fall back down to Earth eventually. That being said, they are a highly competitive team that plays both ends of the court well enough to avoid a blowout. This line is a little low to be comfortable with, but Houston simply does not get blown out.
